Children of Fate
by Senket
Summary: Everyone's been reborn once more to fix a single mistake. A single mistake that destroyed them all the first time around. Sequel to Aigyou Ekiyougami Yoroshiku
1. Threads of Destiny

I have nothing to say, except you should know I don't own anything, and by the end it'll be KakaIru and SasuNaru, if it isn't already.

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/Blonde…Blue…Orange. Why do I have the feeling that means something?/

//*shrugs* Don't look at me. I'm the reality-only kinda guy, no feelings of intuitions involved.//

            /…/

            //…//

            Therefore a staring contest issued between Inner Sasuke and his Voice of Reason. Of course, it wasn't noticeable from outside the Uchiha's body. Suddenly, VoR decided to be useful. Well… as useful as he could be, anyway.

            //…Maybe it has something to do with a family friend. You know, before-//

            /Shut up!/ Inner Sasuke hissed, glaring, /Don't you even dare./

            //…//

            Sasuke, 15, sighed, splayed out on the bed. His room was sparsely decorated. The bed was really a futon laying on the floor, covered by a thin, bland blanket. During the winter he'd just have to wear heavy pj's. Besides that, a packing box full of scrolls was tossed in a corner and a small, low black desk sat below a relatively large window. In the closet hung assortments of dark clothing. The smaller pieces lay folded in a hang-down fabric net that separated into several cubicles. A hitai-ate headband rested folded above a worn family kimono. A suitcase-sized box rested, hidden, in the back. A high shelf also adorned the closet, covered with much paper and many canvases, blank or otherwise.

            He pulled himself to his feet and treaded across the empty floor to the closet, pulling out the wooden box and several sheets of bare paper, dragging the mixture to the desk. He kneeled before the somber furniture, placing the white paper on top of the black surface. He opened the case to reveal, on one side, an assortment of colored pencils and on the other 12 colors of each acrylic, watercolor and oil paint. Removing the second side exposed a set of 3 drawing pencils [6H, HB, 5B], a self-cleaning gum eraser, a metal sharpener and several oil pastels. He left the colored pencils where they were; why use markers? Sighing quietly, he removed the hard pencil and allowed his hand to run on its own. Soon, the random loops and lines became a vague set of shapes, which then evolved to four separate human forms. The people turned into a tall man, a young teen girl and two boys of the same age. Eventually, he recognized one of the boys as himself, and the man as his tutor, Kakashi. He felt a bit nervous, because soon the man he was so close to would become only one of eight teachers from the public high school he would now attend. The two other people he had never seen. Frowning, he watched his hand speed up. He entirely lost control of his appendage as it reached again and again for different colors, and the simple drawing became a superb masterpiece. His eyes inspected it; the movement, the colors… everything. It was beautiful. He drew, but this had never happened before. He studied the picture carefully.

            Kakashi looked no different than he did now. He was crouched on a line, visible eye curved up happily. His bottle-green jacket flopped loosely, and a hand was raised in greeting. Silver mop hung sideways towards his hidden eye. The girl had a large forehead, chin-length choppy pink hair and bubbly green eyes. Her leaf-band was behind her bangs; it could best be seen from above. Her right hand held up the peace sign, left holding her up, placed on her bent knees. She wore a short red dress, with a clan symbol Sasuke had seen before, once or twice. His own picture, indeed, reflected his personality. He wore long, baggy black pants, though each leg was wrapped in white linen below the knee, matching his lower arms. His hands were buried in his pocket. A heavy black turtleneck wrapped his torso, black strands spiked upwards. What really caught his attention, however, was his face. A small smile flickered over his lips, and his dark eyes were strangely warm, watching the fourth and final figure. He frowned, gaze flickering to the other boy. Blonde hair flew in all directions in stylishly messy clumps. A huge, almost unnatural, grin brightened his face, and Sasuke caught himself wishing the eyes were open. With a mental slap, he continued his scrutinizing. The blonde was sitting lazily on the grass, held up by his hands, legs splayed out before him. He wore a black shirt, a bright orange pair of pants and a matching jacket. The first word that came to the young Uchiha's mind was ramen.

            /Ramen???/

            He shook his head disbelievingly, grabbed a money pouch and left the room, entering a dark corridor. He glanced at the kitchen before deciding against cooking. He wasn't hungry anyway. He marched to the door, ignoring all the sealed doors around him. None would ever see the living room, bathroom, kitchen or his bedroom ever again. The house was not a home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Sasuke returned, carrying a backpack, radio, CD player, several CDs and a large binder filled with paper. He knew he'd hate high school already. At least though, he thought as he glanced at the course schedule, he had art. Unfortunately, since most kids his age didn't know _anything_ about art and the schedules were set by homeroom, meaning he'd have to do basics all over again.

            /*sigh*/

            //…sooooooooo… What're we gonna do?//

            /Class 1B

Homeroom: Iruka

Chemistry: Murphy Yamainu

History, World: Iruka

English: Korodai Yashimo

Kanji Study: Gentaru Ikatsui

-Lunch-

Literature, World: Heizen Tanuki

Study Hall: Unsupervised. Trouble students to group counseling.

Physical Education: Hatake Kakashi

Trigonometry: Samitu Konchuu

Art: Maruchi Tarento/

            //Ah. Well, at least there's art.//

            /Hai./

            He munched on a dumpling as he leisurely made his way to his room, organizing his folder and setting the new radio/alarm clock to 5:00. He flipped through the cds. /Linkin Park… Creed… Seether… Silverchair…/ They were all somber, angry and broken, but it was his type of music. Besides, he needed _some_ way to block others out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            He stood before a near-empty classroom, staring hesitantly at the door. How he longed to be in the bare room he spent his life in. Sighing as was so frequent to him, he trudged into the room and chose the back seat [The desks are elevated as in the manga. I haven't seen the anime as I've only found some DivX and it sucks on my computer. *pouts*] Absently, he removed some white sheets he's brought from his art stash and began sketching upon it. Slowly, minutes ticked by and the class began filling up. He winced when a few loud squeals reached his ears, but otherways ignored everything but his drawing. Not too soon, the bell rung loudly and the chatter died. He did not look up, though, but thought it strange that the teacher did not speak. A few minutes passed before-

            "Yeah! I'm here!"

            "Naruto! For God's sakes, how many _times_ do I have to tell you-!"

            "Hehe… Sorry Iruka-aniki-sensei, sir!"

            "You'd better be! Now sit down."

            Sasuke rolled his eyes as he finished to 'sleeping kitsune-bi,' feeling sorry for whoever would end up beside the loud-mouthed idiot. Well, almost.

            "Now class, if I could have your attention please."

            He sighed and finally looked up. The teacher, roughly 5' 8", wearing a black ponytail and a stern-but-kind expression, looked over his new class.

            "Welcome to Konoha High [the classical pick]. My name is _______ Iruka, and unfortunately you'll be spending the next 3 years of schooling in my care." Brief laughter jolted the room. "I'd like each of you, starting from the top right, to introduce yourselves in front of the class, seeing as many of you have had only small group or single tutoring so far. Start."

            The Uchiha orphan watched, disinterested, as a blonde girl stood and ran to stand before everyone. "Hi! I'm Ino. I-" He fazed out, knowing he didn't need any more than anyone's name, if that. He was staring into thin air when a girl decended from her seat. 

            /eh?/

            She looked exactly like the one he had drawn. "My name's Haruno Sakura and I like-" He stopped paying attention again. Eventually, it was his turn. He stood before the class, staring strait ahead.

            "I am Uchiha Sasuke. I hate just about everything and I _don't want friends._"

Satisfied that he had gotten his point across, he returned to his seat calmly. He continued listening to only names, mentally filing snapshots and committing the pictures-and-titles to memory. A loud yell startled him out of his bored reverence as a flash of orange jumped before the class.

/??? It's him!/

//Who?//

/The guy I drew that made me think of ramen!/

//Ah, him. -.-U//

"Yo!" The teen punched the air enthousiastically, trademark grin plastered across his face. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen /eh?/ and Iruka-sensei's the best! BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA~!"

The teacher sweatdropped and shooed the blonde back to his seat. "So anyway. If you'd all sit still in a minute, all of you, your first class will begin shortly."

Their homeroom teacher departed for his next class, and chaos issued for the next few minutes before a stern old man appeared before the class.

"I am Murphy Yamainu, and I am your Chemistry teacher. Now we will start."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After too much boredom and way too many lectures to the loud-mouthed idiot #1 over there, lunch finally arrived. A swarm of girls, headed by Ino and Sakura, surrounded him, gushing over how 'hot' he was and 'would you like to share your lunch with me, Sasuke-kun?' He rolled his eyes, slamming his CD player on the table and putting the music as high as it would go, covering his ears tightly with the headphones. Hopefully, the female population could take a hint. His gazed over the class, and he noticed that besides him, only the fish-cake [Naruto is a type of fish-cake, Uzumaki being a swirl, which are sometimes found on said fishcakes.] ate alone. Of course, the difference being that he _chose_ to. The other boy seemed deathly lonely. The instant Naruto noticed someone looking in his direction, he would put on his care-free mask, and they would look away. Not that the blonde _knew_ Sasuke was watching. The raven-haired teen vaguely realized he didn't know the boy's eye color yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PE. A good thing too, Sasuke was looking forward to seeing a familiar face. He smirked when the students arrived to the large gym, only to realize their teacher was missing.

/Of course. Always late./

"I resent that." The sound brushed past his ear, barely loud enough for him to hear.

"Eh?" He jerked backwards, staring. Kakashi's visible eye in a happy curve, he waved.

"Ohayou students! Since I don't get the pleasure of using a seating chart, I won't learn your names today. But no worries, I shall magically know them by tomorrow!"

Sasuke groaned and slapped his hand to his forehead. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Now today, I'm gonna figure out each of your strengths and weaknesses. I want each of you to try attacking me with all you've got."

"Um, Hatake-sensei, do you mean like street-fighting?"

"Any fighting. Punch, kick, throw weapons… no guns though please! ^_\\U You can even try magic!"

"Eh? We all know magic doesn't exist."

"…Indeed. Well then, go on. You first."

Sasuke spent the rest of class sitting in the bleachers, watching the others' fighting styles. The sensei practiced with him daily, he knew by heart what needed the most work. Besides, this _was_ rather educational. The bell rang and he sighed, going to leave.

"Wait a minute, Sasuke. I need to talk to you."

Frowning, he walked over to the silver-haired man. "What is it?"

"Sasuke, I was wondering… Have you been seeing any strange flashes or something of the kind lately?"

"…Nooo."

"Nothing at all? Have you known something about someone before anyone told you about it?"

*frown* "Well, I did draw a picture of you, me, the pink-haired girl and the loud idiot a week ago. Why?"

The older man sighed worrisomely. "No reason." He dropped a hand on the teen's shoulder, reassuringly. "If anything of the kind happens, tell me ok?"

"Hai."

"…Oh, and one more thing."

"*frown* What?"

"Can you tell me what everyone's name is?" ^_\\

"ITAI!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yeah! Finally, an easy class."

*Twitch*

"Naruto, you IDIOT!!!"

*twitch twitch*

"Class, quiet. Today we will study line."

*Twitch twitch twitch* *Groan*

The sensei passed out white paper. "We'll stat with a very simple ex-"

/Ok, that's _it_! She wants us to do something with line? Fine. I'll just outline something and shade it in graphic pen. Hmph./ He was internally very happy however. Finally, some peace and quiet. Even the idiot down there seemed to be getting into it. Once he finished, though, he sat back, surprised. The infamous fox grin was absent. Instead, a small quirk of the boy's lips flashed back at him, long ramen strands hanging from his mouth into a styrofoam cup. The eyes were open, sparkling thankfully. /Damnit! The one picture I won't be able to color./

//Why not?//

/The shading style, that's why. *sigh*/

//-.-U Change it.//

/Can't. It's inked./

//Well then, find out the **normal** way.//

/Eh?/

//Talk to him, genius!//

/Why? He's an idiot./

//Then why are you so fixated on it?//

/You've got a point…/

//.U//

/Fine, fine./

"Ok class, turn in your papers, the bell will ring in five minutes."

"Yeah!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he passed the hyper boy, ready to go. "Stop that, baka."

*Glare* "Hey! What'd you call me?"

"Bakayaro." He shifted his gaze to stare coolly into enraged skies. /Blue./

//See? There you go.//

He deposited the paper, face down, signed on the front, named and dated on the back.

'At Ta-chan's Ramen. May 10th, 102.'

A paper quickly covered his and he stared strangely at it. It was apparently a picture of him, but older. He sat on the ground in the middle of the woods, a leg raised as an armrest, the other lying sideways on the floor, knee bent to pull it back towards his body. He was inspecting a kunai in his hand, which held a skewered weasel [Itachi ^-^]. Behind him was an elegant fox, nine tails lying dead on the floor as it sat on its haunches, watching him sadly. A trail of blood seeped through the fur from a wound over the canine's heart. He frowned, wondering who had drawn such a masterpiece. Whoever it was, they hadn't signed it. Probably on the back. But before he could turn it over, the bell rang and the teacher whisked the pile away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside, mist filled the hidden alleys, traveling the pale-gray, dew-slicked world to an imposing, but far and hidden, place, closed off. Small pieces of frost patterned themselves randomly amongst the large window. A teen slept close-fisted within. But the peace wasn't meant to last. Suddenly, the alarm turned itself on, the air shifted angrily and spiritual tension rammed itself against the body. Pale lids fluttered open before narrowing, black voids flashing intensely. Whoever DJed the radio stopped talking and put a song on.

The melody sounded like something out of Casper, but it seemed a bit enticing. He tilted his head, making sure he caught every word. After all, a good song usually meant a band worth checking out, and another CD to add to his small but growing collection.

~I'm so tired of being here~

Ah, how fitting it was. The point, the point. Why _was _he still here, anyway? He brushed his thumbs against old scars- arms, legs, torso, neck and chest. He was glad none bothered asking him why he always wore long sleeves and high collars.

~Suppressed by all my childish fears~

He'd grown to have a high tolerance of mental agony, and he had needed that to prove he could still feel then, but the gift from Kakashi had given him a better way: art. And now, he couldn't bring himself to touch the harmful ailments that used to be his 'friends.' He refused to soil nature with his carcass. Too bad.

~And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave~

He sighed, enjoying the song. His eyes traveled to the ceiling. A raucously cheerful voice called out to him. _'Sasuke, tell Sakura and Kakashi-sensei I went fishing when they come back, 'k?' _He shot up, frowning. Where the hell had **that** come from? But it made his heart thump loudly and his breath race.

~Because your presence still lingers here~

His eyes traveled to a dent in the wall. He remembered sending his fist through the wall after Iruka, Kakashi and the Third- wait. What the hell? The house was that old, yes, but he, Uchiha Sasuke, certainly was not. So why could he so clearly remember the rage and despair course through his veins, self-hatred and depression blocking his thoughts? But why, why, _why_? Why the pain, why the sorrow, why the fear? _WHY?_

~And it won't leave me alone~

All he could remember was deception, destruction, a missing soul. But _whose_?

~These wounds won't seem to heal~

What was wrong with him? What was going on? Oh, what, what, _what_? Why did it hurt so much, why did it feel like his heart was cracked and shattered and bleeding? Oh god, _why???_

~This pain is just too real~

Screaming. Tears. Bleeding. Drip, drip, dripping. What was this horrendous pain clutching at his heart, his soul?

~There's just too much that time cannot erase~

He lost himself in the depth of his bleeding broken soul. Where was he? The room swirled away. What room? Why was his mind blank? No past, no future, nothing but the black blackness and infernal, painful, reviving music. Why? Where had the passing of time gone? Why was he so dizzy? Turn, turn, turn. Hurt the carrousel. Where was it all from? Indulging sorrow…

~When you cried I'd wipe away all your tears~

"Stop that, dobe. They'll take you for a baby." So many tears, flood, flood, flood. Oh gods. "Leave me alone, bastard." Blue, blue eyes screaming in agony, screaming in fright, screaming in loss. No, no, no, no! Blue blue eyes drip, drip, dripping. Stop. Stop!

~When you'd scream I'd fight away all your fears~

Sparring. A _lot_ of sparring. Pain, yells, screaming. Too many stupid fights. Blood pumping. Insults, strength. Too many hidden tears. Wounded flesh. Wasted time, Wasted love. Too many hate-filled silences.

~And I've held you through all these years~

"Stop following me!" 'Don't leave my sight.'

"Leave me the hell alone!" 'I need you so much.'

So many, many lies and half-lies.

~But you still have all of me~

Blazing despair. White-hot memories. Clutching. 'Don't die don't die don't die.' /Stop! Please stop!!!/ Second-lasting calm.

~You used to captivate me by your resonating light~

Bright brilliance. Dangerously lovely sun. Burning. So close…

~But now I'm bound by the life you left behind~

Where, where, where? When, what, darkness. Why, why, why? /Stop. My head. My heart… Stop!/

~Your face, it haunts my once pleasant dreams~

Blue, blue eyes. Dark, dark gold; skin. What? Glowing, burning hot, so cold; eyes again. Sunshine straw, more gold; hair. Depthless, bloodless; eyes, eyes, eyes. Rosey, silky; lips. Dead, cold steal; eyes. No! Can't be! Not dead, not cold, not steel! No, NO, _NO_!

~Your voice, it chased away all the sanity in me~

Loud, bells. Screechy, whole. Happy. Pain, pain, pain. /Stop! Stop! Oh god, please stop… *sob sob* please please please please stop stop _stop_!/

~These wounds won't seem to heal~

Tears. Why dead? So cold. It can't be true. Can't be true. Love, love, scream, pain. So much, please. Dead. No! nooooooooo… Wail. Heaven shattering pain sorrow death no……

~This pain is just too real~

Unjustified loss, dreaded silk, devil-angel pain. /No… please… no more *sob* no more, I can't go on…/

~There's just too much that time cannot erase~

Too much, too soon. Too soon forever, shouldn't be. Forever. No, no, no, no, NO! Forever, please! Earth-shattering, pain-filled wail. /Stop!/

~When you cried I'd wipe away all your tears~

'Don't. No. Stop that. Stop that!' Drip, drip, drip, drip. No blood, no rain. Wipe. No drip. No more. Shhh……

~When you'd scream I'd fight away all your fears~

Shh, come here. Shh, I'll help you. Shh, it's ok, shh… Shut up! Scream, anger, resentment, bottled up love. Self-hatred. Too much. Adrenaline. Get it out, now, now, _now!_

~And I've held your hand through all these years~

Grab. Drag. "Stop that, you'll hurt yourself." "No, shh, let me help you." "Hold on, I'll get you back safely." "Don't get up, you're sick!" "Are you ok?"

~But you still have all of me~

"Take care of yourself." 'Love you'

"I don't need you to be a liability." 'I watch you too much already.'

"You'll be fine." 'I'll protect you.'

Veiled truths. Unfinished reassurance.

~I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone~

Mound of stone. Earth. Funeral. _Here lies_. 'Not true. Impossible.' No, stop. True, true, true. 'Can't be. No, no, no, no…'

~But though you're still with me…~

"Yeah, I'm here!" "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I love ramen and Iruka-sensei's the best! BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA~!" Iridencent blue. Piercing. Flash. Bright.

~I've been alone all along.~

Shattered bone. Steel eyes, cold, cold, cold. Broken windows. Blood. God, too much. /stop…/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Class passed strangely. He was so dizzy, tired. So incredibly practically unconscious, unknowing. Fever sickness hailed him. His soul's torment had been released. He clutched the new cd to him. Gold, blue, sun. Blonde, blue, orange. Tired and dizzy. His head spun, his heart wrenched, his stomach gripped. Lunch had not been eaten. How could it have been? Opening his mouth was too grueling. PE already? But it was lunch a second ago! /Oh, my head…/ File with the others. Huh? Everyone has brought their twin. Eh? Why did they all look at him weird? Heh. Amble to the gym. Where's Kakashi? Head throbbing, hurting, pain wracking his body. Imbalanced. World a swirl of colors. Oh… Blackness. Falling. No pain. Nothing…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sasuke woke in the infirmary, the face of his worried teacher floating above him. He groaned, rubbing his eyes vigorously. A shrill shriek brought him out of his confused reverie.

"Sasuke's awake!"

"Girls, girls. Return to your classroom and wait for your next teacher please. The poor boy needs rest." The female voice called them away.

Confused, he glanced at the tall, silver-haired man frowning down at him.

"What?"

"You fainted while you were in PE. Why is that?"

"Dunno. I was dizzy."

The frown deepened, eyebrows furrowing as his teacher's forehead creased, making him look twice his age. "And what brought this bought of sickness about?"

"I Dunno. This morning a song started up and the weirdest emotions and inexistent memories ran through my head. I can't remember anything from school."

If possible, the frown grew denser. "What sort of… memories?"

"Ah… there was… something about a death-stone. Blue eyes turned gray. A lot of mental torture…"

Was that another increase in forwnage? How _does_ the man do it? *shakes head in wonder* "Sasuke, tomorrow, don't go anywhere. I need to show you something. For now, go home. And don't dare leave your bed." He turned and walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Follow me."

The walk had been long. The Uchiha mansion stood opposite the cliff, and the entire village lay in between. "Are we going to the top?"

"No."

Sasuke rose an eyebrow, confused. Kakashi was heading strait for the stairs. Right before he reached them, however, the silver-haired sensei took an abrupt left, leading into the woods. He started descending into… the earth? There were stairs, centuries, maybe millennia, old. No one used them, ever. They were a dead end anyway. The adult before him turned right sharply, pacing down more disused steps. Or maybe not, no one had noticed the real path, that's all… Eventually, they left the cover of foliage and Sasuke could tell where they were. At the cliff bottom, below the village. There was nothing but gray rock and fallen leaves nearest to the forest.

"I wasn't aware it was possible to get here without rope hanging from the balcony or cliff face."

"No one is." The man seemed vacant suddenly. "No one bothers to find out anyway. There's practically nothing here."

"Then why are we here?"

"I said practically." With a quick glance at his student, he sped his pace, marching to a pile of smaller stones. A solitary onyx slab protruded from the pale gray, inscribed in formal font. Tough the shrine house no longer stood, the rotten foundation boxed around the dirt. "Look familiar?"

He frowned. "Yes. Yes, it does."

"Look at it, Sasuke."

'_Here Lies_

_Uzumaki Naruto_

_Hokage the Sixth_

_76-105_

_Forever shall he be remembered as the Greatest Hokage_

_As was his fondest wish, though lost to his despair'_

"Lost to his despair?" He glanced at the sitting PE teacher, who stared emptily at the stones, hands hanging limply between his knees.

"I can't tell you. You'll know when the time is right."

"But how can it be 105? It's 102 _now_!"

"When that was written, it was the 105th year since the real of Kage rulers began. About a century ago, non-ninjas gained projectile weapons and ninja children began doing other things. Since ninjitsu was no longer needed, people forgot how to channel chakra. The calendar was reset for the new era where the physical-mental balance was no longer used."

"That's my job to know."

Sasuke spun around, while Kakashi merely exhaled in a puff of white smoke. "Iruka."

The history teacher sat beside Kakashi, leaning his head against a broad shoulder. "I miss him so much."

"But he's back."

"No. No… he's not the same."

"Everyone behaves the same towards him… he grew up the same."

"No… he would have been three years with you, Sasuke and Sakura by now. He should have softened a bit, forgotten crushes and learned love."

A gloved hand reached to stroke the other's raven strands, releasing the ponytail so that ebony draped over the shorter man's shoulders. "Do you really want him to go through that again?"

"No. But I want him back." Neither pair of eyes left the mound of gray stone and black marble.

Sasuke watched them, confused. They weren't old enough to have known the 6th, that was over 2 hundred years ago. Possibly over a thousand. Strange… How come everything was still in perfect condition? It's as if time stopped down here. What kind of a thing to think was that? He didn't even know how he'd known about the funeral at all, let alone the dead mangled body of the person that resided inside the grave. This was getting complicated.

-End of chapter1 O.o-


	2. Familiar

TITLE: Children of Fate

CHAPTER: Familiar

AUTHOR: Kami Beverly

FANDOM: Naruto

GENRE: Romance/Angst

RATING: PG-13

PAIRING: Kakashi/Iruka, future Sasuke/Naruto

WARNING: Itachi bastardization, slight Sasuke OCC

DISCLAMER: I don't own anything.

NOTES: I apologize for the shorter chapter and lengthy wait. My creativity is currently rather dry. And as for 'itai' in the last chapter, I apologize for the confusion it has caused.

CHAPTER DEDICATIONS: Keo Siph, for offering me something rare in reviews, but much appreciated: constructive criticism.

----------------------------------------------- 

Sasuke hummed carelessly as he removed the steaming kettle from fire and poured the hot water into his black clay teapot. He didn't even flinch when a large chakra suddenly burst behind him.

"Ah, tea! Wonderful! Thank you, Sasuke."

...Although hewas fully entitled to twitching. "Good morning, Kakashi-sensei." He dropped the small pouch of dry leaves into the pot, sighing. "Make yourself comfortable, I guess." And, as you can imagine, the teacher did just that. A few minutes later, Sasuke sat at his table, setting down two porcelain cups, the black pot and a bowl of cold miso soup. He poured the tea, with one hand, rubbing his other arm across his eyes. Judging from his black t-shirt, made of very light fabric, he had been expecting Kakashi to show up.

The silver-haired man's eyes scanned Sasuke's arms and he sighed in relief, glad to see no fresh scars adorned the pale skin. He shook himself out of his reverie with a small smile directed at the cup of his favorite tea now caught between his palms. "Domo arigatou." (Translation: Thanks very much)

"Eh. I have a feeling you're not here to train me. What would you like to discuss?"

"You know me too well, Sasuke-chan."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and scrunched his face at the older man. "You know perfectly well I hate to be called that."

"Would you rather I call you tenshi-chibi-chan?" (Translation: little angel)

The Uchiha took on an absolutely disgusted look. "NO!"

Kakashi laughed and ruffled the messy black hair. "On to business. I'm going to group your class into smaller sparring teams based on their level and style of fighting. Since you're so ahead of everyone, I was wondering who you'd like to be placed with."

Sasuke crossed his eyes and mumbled something.

"What was that? I don't speak Shy."

XP "I SAID it doesn't matter **who** I pick, because we _both_ know that you already have your groups chosen!" XP

"Quite right! What do you think of being Naruto's sparring partner, then?"

Sasuke twitched slightly, before shaking his head, muttering something about 'not being surprised.' After all, he knew perfectly well that Kakashi and Iruka had been conspiring on how to help Sasuke understand Naruto's spirit ever since he'd started 'remembering' things.

"That reminds me!" Kakashi suddenly exclaimed loudly, slamming his fist into his palm. "The two of us are going to a father-son dinner at Iruka's. Fun, huh?"

"For one thing, I barely know Iruka-sensei. Another thing is that YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!"

"Nonsense. I may as well be." He grinned and patted Sasuke's head. "Besides, if you and your daddy's boyfriend are going to get along, you have to talk at some point, right?"

The teenager rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and reclining against the wall. "Whatever you say, _dad_. Besides, how is it a father-son dinner if Iruka-sensei doesn't have a kid?"

"It's a surprise!"

* * *

'I really should haveseen thatcoming,' the teen though as he stared at the bouncy blond helping his homeroom teacher cook. 'After all, he did call him brother when he barged into class, ne?' His perky classmate noticed him leaning against the wooden doorframe and stuck his tongue out at him childishly. 

"Naruto, don't be rude."

"Whaaaaaa?" Naruto turned to the dolphin, who was still separating an egg from its yolk. "What did I do?" He questioned innocently.

"Nice try." Iruka gave the annoyed boy a small smile. "Why don't you show Sasuke-kun around the house?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and stalked towards the paper door, hissing as he brushed past Sasuke. "Just so you know, _Uchiha_-kun, I'm still mad at you for insulting me. I am, in no way, an idiot."

Sasuke followed him with a snort. "Wanna bet?"

The blond rolled his eyes and trudged into his room, followed by his bored classmate, and collapsed on the futon he'd left out, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Shut the door."

Sasuke obediently slid the paper door shut, before promptly dropping cross-legged to the floor, pulling a piece of strawberry pocky from his pocket and sucking on it. "So."

"So what?" Came the annoyed reply.

"Well, nothing in particular. Want some pocky?"

Naruto suddenly sat up, staring at the raven-haired boy with wide eyes.

"What?"

"N-no one's ever offered me anything, much less someone that is readily accepted into high society."

shrug "It's just a piece of pocky."

"So? Jesus Christ, I'm used to getting rocks thrown at me. I mean, for God's sakes, all I need to do is glance at a store and people are accusing me of theft."

Sasuke rose a skeptical eyebrow, a strange, calculating look in his eyes. "What _are_ you talking about?"

Naruto stared at him for a second before returning to his previous position. "Did you know I have a prison record? Repetitive attempts at theft and whatnot. Don't even know why, I never did anything."

"And that has to do with pocky because..."

"Because that just goes to show that even those that are supposed to be absolutely fair are biased against me. The only person who's ever been nice to me is Iruka. That's probably just 'cause he was lonely and he had nothing better to do. I mean, he's great and everything, but why would he take in a monster like me? It can't be because he loves me. No one can love a demon like me."

"Don't ever say that again." Sasuke hissed.

"What's _your_ problem?"

Sasuke shivered, hate filling the pit of his stomach. "_You _are."

"Then why don't you leave me the fuck alone?"

"I _will_." Sasuke stalked out, slamming the door so hard he practically cracked the frail wooden frame, send a slight tremor through the paper. He stomped into the bathroom, knowing full well Kakashi wasn't going to allow him to leave, curled up in the bathtub, and sobbed his heart out. Naruto had unknowingly opened up old wounds.

_"Why?" Child Sasuke felt the tears swell in his eyes as he stared at the carnage of blood and flesh splattered on the walls and ceiling of the living room, and on his brother's face and clothes. The older Uchiha regarded the toddler with a solemn look, crouching down at the little boy's level. He rested his hand on the small head of black hair._

_"It's your fault, Sasuke. You're a demon, and no one's allowed to love demons. Mommy and Daddy loved you, and look what happened to them. I'm very lucky not to love you, Sasuke, because then I would be like Mommy and Daddy, because you're a rotten little demon."_

_He furiously wiped the tears off his cheeks with the sleeves of his small black kimono. "No, it's not true. I didn't want Mommy and Daddy to die!"_

_"It doesn't matter, Sasuke, because you're a disgusting little demon who makes people **die**."_

_"NO!"_

_"It's all your fault, Sasuke, because you're a disgusting, ugly, rotten, weak little demon that nobody will ever love, because they'll all **die** otherwise."_

_"No!" He sobbed, collapsing to the ground, "no, it's not true. It's not true... I didn't do it. I didn't want Mommy and Daddy to die. MOMMY! WHERE ARE YOU, MOMMY?"_

_"She's dead, Sasuke."_

_"NO! NO, IT'S NOT TRUE! YOU'RE JUST PRETENDING! YOU'RE MEAN AND EVIL, ITACHI!" He pounded his tiny fists against his brother's chest. The older Uchiha laughed cruelly._

_"They're really dead, Sasuke. Look! There's Mommy head! And look! I found Daddy's too! But I'm going to have to leave now, because if I stay here any longer, I'm going to die too, just like Mommy and Daddy. I'm just still alive because I don't love you, you stupid, ugly demon." He grinned, dark eyes swirling with insanity. "No one could love a demon like you."_

"No one could love a demon like me." He mumbled. "_No one._ They'll just get hurt." After a long silence, he exhaled nervously and finished. "It's not true. Itachi murdered them. He's in an inanity ward under lock and key and he won't hurt anyone again. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't…" Sasuke stopped trying to fight it and let out a low whine. He felt like a frightened little boy again.

A soft knock on the door shifted his attention back to the real world. "Sasuke, we're going to eat in a little while. Naruto and Iruka are finishing up and setting the table. Can I come in?"

Sasuke exhaled shakily and rubbed his eyes clean. "Sure."

Kakashi slid the door open quietly, leaving the light off, and sat on the bath's ledge near Sasuke's curled-up form, speaking gently. "Are you ok to eat?"

"Yeah, sure."

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Yes, of course. I'm fine now. It was just a passing thing."

"If you're sure."

Sasuke stood shakily and started making his way towards the door.

"One last thing."

"Hm?" Sasuke suddenly found himself entirely enveloped in a warm, comforting hug. The two stayed there for a few short minutes because Kakashi slowly unwound his arms.

"Feel better, Sasuke-chan?"

"Hai, otousan. Domo arigatou gozaimasu." (Translation:Yes father. Thank you very much (formal) )

He was greeted with an affectionate smile.

Dinner was mostly silent. Kakashi would complement the dolphin and fish-cake's cooking occasionally, but for the most part they were quiet. It wasn't so much an uncomfortable, I-can't-think-of-anything-to-say silence as a we-all-need-some-time-to-think silence. When he had finished eating, Sasuke respectfully rinsed his dishes and left them in the sink. Naruto caught him on the way back, himself going to get the dessert for everyone and putting his own dishes away. "Hey, listen, Uchiha-kun, I apologize for what happened earlier. I was venting, and I didn't mean to offend you."

Sasuke nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "It's fine."

Naruto was surprised to find a single, pink pocky stick sitting on his pillow when he retired for the night.

-End of chapter 2-


End file.
